Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first quarter of this year reached 1.2 billion USD, representing a year-on-year decline of 7.5-8 percent.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the country earned 447-450 million USD from exporting fishery products in March, down 17-18 percent against the same month last year.

Experts said that domestic shrimp producers are facing difficulties derived from decreasing demand and Japan ’s strict technical barrier related to ethoxiquyn levels in the products.

VASEP estimated that shrimp exports fell by 10 percent to 160 million USD in March and 7.9-8 percent to 400 million USD in the first three months of the year.

The export of tra fish – one of the country’s major hard currency earners – saw a 13 percent decrease to 140 million USD last month, pulling down the country’s total export of this product in Q1 to 393 million USD, a fall of 7.6 percent from a year ago.

In the above-mentioned period, tuna exports fetched 145 million USD, up 12 percent compared to the same period last year. However, the March figure went down 16 percent and the decreasing trend is likely to continue in the coming months.

The export of other sea fish decreased 28 percent to over 60 million USD in March, resulting in a 9 percent drop in the first three months. Octopus exports saw a sharp decrease of 34 percent and 22 percent in March and the first quarter, respectively. To increase the country’s export turnover in the months to come, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam requested localities to actively assist businesses in implementing activities to expand their markets and propose timely solutions to remove their difficulties.-VNA